A Conroe police officer critically wounded a man during a shootout Sunday morning following a chase in Montgomery County, officials said.

Greg Kocian - a 33-year-old Cleveland man with a lengthy criminal record who sued the sheriff's office last year - leaned out of a car window and allegedly opened fire on police, who fire back seven shots in return.

The shooting came just days after an FBI agent shot and killed a Conroe kidnapping victim during a botched operation in Houston.

The Sunday chase kicked off around 9:30 a.m., when a caller reported a suspicious vehicle in Kasmiersky Park, police said.

Responding officers spotted the Chevy Cavalier leaving the park and tried to stop the car - but the driver sped away down Interstate 45, according to police.

The chase wound across South Loop 336 and later onto Sgt. Ed Holcomb Blvd. At that point, the car slowed down and Kocian allegedly leaned out the window and fired two rounds at an officer behind him.

Then the car sped up again and the gunman fired off another shot, just before another Conroe officer intervened and shot the driver near the intersection of FM 2854 and Sgt. Ed Holcomb Boulevard.

Kocian was rushed to Conroe Regional Medical Center in critical condition with what appeared to be life-threatening injuries.

Authorities did not immediately name the officers involved in the shooting.

A passenger in the car raised his hands and surrendered, police said. He was taken in for questioning, but it's not immediately clear whether he'll be charged.

"It's my understanding that there was some social media news that there was a dog in the vehicle," Dupuis said. "There was a dog in the vehicle. The dog was maced, but the dog has been captured and is in custody of animal control."

Police also recovered two guns from the car. It's not clear what the men were doing in the park in the first place or why they fled - but, according to court records, Kocian had violated bond conditions after a drug arrest late last year.

Last March, Kocian was charged with aggravated sexual assault after police alleged he'd beat a woman over the head, tortured and raped her.

Those charges were ultimately dismissed after a grand jury declined to indict him, according to court records. His former attorney, Willis Everett Smith, said that was due to inconsistencies in the victim's story.

Then in July, Kocian filed a lawsuit against the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, alleging malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.

A federal judge late last year tossed the claim against the sheriff's office but opened the door for Kocian to re-file a suit in state court, targeting the woman who he said falsely accused him.

The Liberty County man picked up another Montgomery County charge in September, when court records show he was arrested on charges of possessing a controlled substance. That case had not yet been resolved.